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Ejection in 10th inning was a first for Saunders

Ejection in 10th inning was a first for Saunders

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SEATTLE -- Mariners left fielder Michael Saunders wasn't so much upset at getting tossed from Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Orioles as he was that his first career ejection came in a game that wound up going 18 innings and he might have been able to help.

Saunders got the heave-ho from home-plate umpire Jordan Baker after getting called for an inning-ending third strike in the bottom of the 10th with runners on first and second.

"I wasn't happy with the call and it was a situation where we'd have had the bases loaded at that point and a passed ball or error or anything wins the game," Saunders said. "I let my emotions get the best of me. I threw my equipment in disgust and walked away. I might have said something near the end of where I was going. I think he was just kind of waiting to see if I turned around and if I did, I was done. And I did."

Saunders said he wasn't trying to show Baker up, which was why he was heading back to the dugout.

Saunders plays with some fire, which is OK with manager Eric Wedge. Saunders went to Wedge's office after the game, but the skipper said he had no issue with his actions.

"I like the intensity, I like the fire," Wedge said. "That's something that hasn't happened to him before. I'm not taking that away from him. He's all-in on everything, he's been fantastic this year and I still think he's just scratching the surface.

"For him to be fighting out there and wanting it that bad, maybe his emotions get the best of him from time to time, but I'm willing to take that."

Saunders said he was ejected once from a Minor League game, but this obviously was a bigger situation that was multiplied with how the game played out.

"I iced, got finished in the training room and sat and watched the game for a few more hours, which was honestly even more tough," he said. "The fact it kept going and going, knowing I should still be out there, didn't make it any easier."